Sky Warrior
by Spartan10007
Summary: James Winter lives a harsh life. But someone gives him an opportunity to change that. Joining Jake Sully to Pandora, James will have a chance to make a new life for himself.
1. Prologue

A.N. Hello everyone. I decided to re-watch Avatar and wanted to write a story on it. So, here we are. But first, Stat Chart!

Reviewers:

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Now forward! This will be kind of a back story, but not really...let's just start

* * *

"Sergent James" The Interrigator says, "Winter!"

He bangs his fist onto the table.

James looks up at him.

"Now, tell us again...what happened!"

"..."

The Interrigator pushes himself up with an aggrivated sigh.

"It was like a normal mission...only...something felt off about it. I'll explain it to you again...for the fifth time"

* * *

James aimed down his sights at the enemy, and pulled the trigger. The bullet went straight through the target's head, with no sound. A team moved forward, and kicked in the door that James' target was guarding.

"Nice shot Ace"

"Yeah, it was easy though" James responds

"Don't complain. I'm stuck at base keeping watch over you guys"

"You know I don't need anyone watching over me Kevin"

"It's Cobra, and I know that you don't need anyone else for this mission, so don't caomplain to me"

"I'm the best of the best, and the higher-ups say that I need a team to go with me. Bullshit"

"I hear you, but try to stay on target"

"Alright, alright...where's the team now? I don't have a visual"

"They're on the second floor, moving up"

James saw them through a window on the third floor, taking down more terrorists as they went. They were efficient, He had to admit, but reckless a well.

"Crab One, watch the corner. A lot of guys" James says, taking aim with his sniper, "Be ready...three, two, one...*bang*!"

James' shot went through the window and through the head of one of the more heavily armored terrorists. Crab Team moved in and shot them down while they were distracted.

"Hey hey hey! Watch your fire, I don't want to tell your mothers that you died from your own ally," James says, "Hey Kevin, if this actually succeeds, I'll buy you a drink...Kevin? You there? ...Kev?"

The whole building lit up, and a few helicopters flew around the building.

"Goddamnit, GET OUT OF THERE!" James yells over the comms.

Crab Team starts to move, but is cut off by the helicopters firing at them.

"James..." Someone says over the comms.

"David, hold on. I'll try to do something"

"No don't! You'll just get caught too"

"Look, I'm not leaving you to die"

James sees the rockets on the helicopters start to shift a bit.

"Don't make me do this!"

"Goodbye little brother...make it count"

The helicopters unleashed hell and decimated the building, leaving James standing there, staring at the debris. James stood up from his cover, and turned around...and left.

* * *

"I worked as an assassin and saboteur for the highest buyer...and now I'm here talking to you"

"Hmm...what if I were to tell you that you could start a new life...on a new planet"

"...All depends on the planet"

"Pandora"

That caught James' interest.

"And you'll be going with an old friend of yours...Jake Sully"

"I haven't contacted Jake in years..."

"Well, it'll be an interesting reunion. His own brother recently died, so it would do him good to have a familiar face"

"Why do care about us anyways. What does any of this have to do with expanding power"

"It doesn't...I work for someone that has taken an interest in Mr. Sully. You are only here because he was interested with you as well"

"Well then...when do I ship out?" James says, leaning back in his chair

"Tonight"

"Why so soon?"

"Your DNA was needed as a sort of passport"

"That explains why I had blood drawn but it didn't answer my question"

"The answer to your question is that we have a ship waiting to depart as we speak. So...let's start moving"

* * *

A.N. Sorry if this was really really short, but I wanted to save all the good stuff for later. Curious question, do you want James/Neytiri or Jake/Neytiri? That's it for now.

Reviews would be appreciated

Anyways stay awesome guys and gals of the world, and I'll see you next chapter


	2. Pandora

A.N. Hello all. Time for the next chapter of Sky Warrior. First the Stat Chart:

Reviewers:

Oldtimer70

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Views:

29+

This will be following the movie besides other changes. So...just letting you know.

* * *

James woke up to see a blank white. Illuminated by the small lights on the sides of the pod. It was opened by a man wearing a white shirt and pants.

"Mornin' sun shine"

"We there?"

"Yeah...we're there"

James gets up and sees Jake being woken up as well. Together they head towards their mini-lockers.

"Jake, good to see you"

"You too James. Although it's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah...ever since the break up..."

James just stares at the inside of his locker for a few seconds befor Jake taps him on the shoulder.

"Put it behind you man"

"Yeah...yeah, right"

The two started chatting with each other and eating a few MREs while they waited. Once everyone was awake, which had taken a good couple of hours, they were all loaded up onto the shuttle and were assigned into their seats. James was stuck with Jake, which neither of them minded. As they took off, they were pretty sure that they fell asleep during the ride.

Once the shuttle set down, James helped hand Jake his things. With masks on, they waited for the door to open. When the door opened, James waited behind with Jake.

"Come on you two, don't make me wait" The sergent says

"Calm down, we're going" James says

James positioned himself on Jake's left side. An AMP (Amplified Mobility Platform) walked past them, and Jake had to tilt out of the way in order not to be crushed. The piolet looked behind and says, "Look out, hot rod", before moving forward again.

"Asshole" James says, making Jake chuckle

The two make their way forward, and stop to see a huge truck like vehicle drive past. They both see the arrows

"I don't know about you, but I don't want any of those in me"

The two continue moving forward, but are stopped by two of Pandora's veterans.

"Hey, James, didn't think we'd be seeing you here of all places"

"Yeah, the Shadow Sniper is paying us a visit? Wow, I'm so happy"

"Sean, Lyle, good to see you two nut jobs"

"Yeah, last we saw of you, you were leaving with a half a million dollars. AND that new sniper rifle" Lyle says

"Well, I've been moving around"

"So, who's this?" Sean asks, gesturing to Jake with his gun

"Oh, this is Jake, another one of my old friends"

"Oh, the meal on wheels?"

"Don't worry about Lyle Jake, he calls everyone a meal"

"Yeah, well, you'd best get on in there. The Colonel is giving his usual speech"

"Alright, thanks for the advice"

James and Jake make their way through the base, and eventually find the meeting area. They both set their bags on the same table and sit/stand as they listen to the Colonel. After giving his "rules" everyone was dismissed.

As the two made their way down the hallway, someone started calling out Jake's name. A scragly man, named Norm, approached them and started talking to them while directing them to the Bio-Lab. Norm started talking about the various things they would be doing, but what really caught Jake and James' attention were the large blue cat-like-humanoid beings.

"Damn these things got big" Jake says

"Must have happened while we were in cryo" James responds

"That's right" Norm says, "They grew while they were being transported with you all. Pretty cool, right?"

Norm then leads the two to the Link Room, where they would be swithing bodies. They get there in time to see a woman get out of a Link Pod. They approached a tan skinned man though, and start talking to him.

"Hi there, name's Max"

Each introduce themselves accordingly. They all head towards the woman, discovering her name to be Grace when Norm brings up the book She wrote.

"Grace, this is Norm, Jake, and James" Max introduces

"Norm, I've heard good things about you. How's your Na'vi?" Grace asks

Norm said a phrase in Na'vi, which Grace commented saying it sounded a bit to formal. Norm said he studied for 5 years, then Grace turned her attention towards Jake.

"So who's this?"

"Jake Sully, pleasure to-"

"I know who you are, where is your brother. The one who studied in a lab for years?"

"He's dead...I know this must be an inconvenience for you"

Grace let out an aggrivated sigh and looked at James.

"And you are?"

"James Winter"

"What's your specialty?"

"Almost anything. I had a balance of fighting and intelligence, which means I know what I'm doing...to a degree"

Grace relaxed her stance a bit.

"Winter is your last name, correct?"

"Yes"

"Do you have a father named...Wayne Winter?"

"...Yes...how do you know him?"

Grace looked down at the floor before saying, "He was once involved in this program...but..."

"I get it...I know that he died"

A tense silence follows, but Grace started everythinhg back up, and soon the two were talking to their pilot.

"This here is my baby" Trudy says, "Hey Wainfleet, get that ready, we bounce at zero-nine"

"Yeah, I'm on it capitane"

Trudy then leads the two friends to the Colonel, giving them each a fist pound before walking off. They approach Miles, and watch as he lifts extremely heavy weights.

"This zero-gravity'll make you soft" Miles says, "You get soft-*puts weights baack*-Pandora will sh*t you out. I had the pleasure of looking over both your dossiers. Impressive"

Miles led them both to an AMP.

"I was First Recon myself. Kind of like you, corporal. Although, I was probably being shadowed by someone like you, sergeant" Miles says, looking to each one

Miles gestured for them to go onto the lift, and they Miles was checking everything, he kept talking. He eventually led up to giving Jake his legs back if he helped with his mission. James, on the other hand, was actually given something. The colonel powered down one of the gloves and signalled one of the engineers to give James a weapon's case. He then re-powered the glove and walked away.

James opened the weapons case and was shocked to see a sniper rifle. An Eagle Eye Mark X. They were made for percision and accuracy, while simultaneously keeping a hard punch that would cause even an AMP to flinch.

"Damn..." James says

"Yeah, how come you get all the good stuff?" Jake says jokingly

"'Cause I'm that lucky" James says, closing the case, "Come on, let's get back to the Bio-Lab"

* * *

Once they made it back to the Link Room, Grace led the three to their Link Pods. Norm was in first, Jake second, and James third. As the lid closed, Grace gave Jake and James some advice and try to clear their mind.

Inside it looked fine, so James closed his eye, and before he knwe it, he was being sucked through a strange tunnel and was blinded by a bright light.

"James, James can you hear me?" A disoriented voice says

James looks around a bit as the doctors start to perform their tests. He could see Jake leaning up and Norm already sitting. James held his hands in front of his face and saw that they were blue and very different.

"This is strange" James says to himself

"Can you feel any pain? Any numbness?" A scientist asks

"No, so far so good"

James sits himself up. He watches as Jake starts to stand up.

"Oh no" James says

James knew that since Jake had lost the feeling in his legs, He would jump at the chance to use them. He was proven right when Jake stood up and started to accidentally destroy the area.

"Jake, calm down. You're not use to your new body yet, this is dangerous" Max says over the comms.

"This is great" Jake responds

He then pushes past another scientist and opens the door and leaves.

"Come on, get me out of thins thing" James says

"We need to go" Norm says as he un-hooks himself from the machines

The two finally get detatched and chase after Jake, who had walked past two other Avatars playnig basketball.

"It's alright, we'll handle this. Jake!" Noram yells out

James and Norm take after Jake, who starts running across the area into a garden. James ran ahead of Norm and left him a bit behind. Soon he caught up to Jake, who had skitted to a halt. James watched his friend shift the dirt under his feet with the happiest expression ever.

"Hey marine" A female voice calls out

The two look to see anoother avatar walking towards them.

"Damn, Grace?" Jake says

"Well who do you think numbnuts?" Grace says, picking a fruit and tossing it to Jake, "Think fast"

Jake catches the fruit and looks back at Grace.

"Motor controls looking good" Grace states humorously

Jake took a bite out of the fruit, causing some juice to spill out as he gasped slightly in delight. James walked up to Jake and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Like a dream come true, right?" James says

"Yeah...I almost can't believe this is real! This is terrific!" Jake yells

* * *

The rest of the day passed, and the avatars found themselves getting in their bunks getting ready to go back to their real bodies. James and Jake chose cots next to each other and fist bumped each other. The two friends started to chat about what the next move might be, when Jake picked up his ponytail and revealed some sort of strange strands.

"That's a bit strange" Jake says

"Yeah...wonder what that's for"

"Alright people, lights out!" Grace yells, ushering the scientists out of the sleeping quarters

Jake and James lie down on their cots and start to drift off to sleep.

James opens his eyes to see the lid of the link pod. Not knowing what else to do, He opens it and pushes the skeletal frame off his body. James then sits himself up and lets out a tired sigh. He gets up and walks around to Jake's Link Pod and sees the man himself push open the pod.

"Feels like a small hangover. How about you?" James says

"Just a headache"

"Haha, come on. Let's get some real sleep. We're on gun tomorrow"

"Yeah, I'll see you in the barracks in a second"

"Alright, night"

Jake watched as James left through the door. Once it closed, He wheeled himself over to Grace, who was talking to some techies about something science related.

"Grace, I need to talk to you" Jake says

Grace sent the technician on his way and walked up to Jake.

"What is it?"

"You said that you knew James' father?"

"Once...why?"

"When he was alive were you and him...involved?"

"...Possibly, why?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because James' father never returned from space when he joined the force, which made James live there all his life with no family to return to but his currently deceased brother"

Grace looked confused.

"You may not know James like I do, but that confident and honest man you see...is a pseudo personality. He's had a hard life, and masks the pain with confidence. It takes real skill in order to do that. So I'm letting you know, if this project gives James any anguish, then you'll have to answer to me"

Grace looks at Jake with a searching expression. Even with his handicap, Jake still had the courage to say that to her. With a small smile Grace says, "Alright. I'll be sure to remember that"

Jake nods to her before wheeling himself to his sleeping quarters. As Grace watches him go, She recalls her time spent with Wayne.

* * *

The two had met in the lab, the place where both of them spent most of their time. One day, while they were on brake, Grace noticed Wayne looking at a virtual picture of himself and two boys.

"Your kids?" Grace asks

"Yeah...I miss them. They're older now, but..."

"How old are they?"

"They'd be around 19 now. They both joined the force when they were around 14"

"Why would they join at such a young age?"

"They felt that it was their duty, heh, they're smart too. So the military is lucky to have them"

The two went about conversation untl they realized that it was getting late. Both parted ways for the night. The following days, Grace and Wyane had gotten to know each other better, and had started working with each other more closely. Unfortunately, Grace had been dreading the day when Wyane would be sent back.

Grace was surprised to find out that Wyane was not going, and was happy when He admitted his feelings towards her. The two spent most of hheir time together whenever they were off duty, using the avatar bodies for some outdoor fun. It was on one particular excursion, that things went bad.

Grace was sent out with Wayne and a fully equiped Scorpion. The only problem was that it was a Night Op and that the avatar bodies were locked down for the night. They were flown onto one of the floating islands, and were suppose to get some samples.

"Wayne, mind setting up the scanner?" Grace asks once they got to a large tree

"No problem"

Everything was going ok, until snarling could be heard. The two looked around to see a gigantic Thanator snarling at them.

"Grace, we need to go" Wayne says in a quiet voice

They quickly removed the equipment, and ran back to the Scorpion. The Thanator charged at them, and chased them all the way back. Wayne looked behind and saw the Thanator clawing through some roots. Making the decision, He gave Grace the other equipment, kissed her on the lips, and ran towards the Thanatos.

The soldiers had to force Grace back into the Scorpion as She watch the Thanator change it's target and run after Wayne. Grace screamed at the soldiers and watched helplessly as both figures vanished from sight. Once they returned to base, a new rule was put into play. No one was allowed out after dark.

"It was a bit late for that" Grace thought, as she trudged herself back to her Personnal Quarters. She lay there in bed, wiithout the warm comfort of Wayne laying beside her. At least She was able to give herself to him before His death. She knew it was going to be empty for a long time.

* * *

A.N. And that's the end of the first chapter. Sorry if I messed up the order, but...yeah. Next up will be the trip into the jungle, and maybe some Neytiri.

Reviews would be appreciated

Anyways stay awesome guys and gals of the world, and I'll see you next chapter


	3. Exploration

A.N. Hello all. Stat Chart:

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Time for the adventure!

 _Italics will be Na'vi_

Normal is Human

* * *

The next day, James, Jake, Norm, and Grace linked up to their avatar and were being flown to their destination by Trudy. Jake let out a cheer as they brushed against the water. Soon they touched down, and Grace ordered her to power down the Scorpion.

"Good luck out there" Lyle says to James

"No worries. Just keep our ride out of here safe" James says

"Can do"

The four set out, and Grace makes Norm's day by showing him the pulses in the trees. As they took samples, James and Jake strayed off and explored the area.

"This is beautiful" James says, looking at the environment

"Yeah" Jake responds

Jake touched one of the plants, making a suction sound, it shrunk. He did the same thing again, again, again, until all the plants went down, and a ginormous animal was standing there looking royally pissed off. Jake and James pulled their guns, and aimed at the beast.

"Don't shoot," Grace says over the comms., "Don't shoot or you'll piss it off"

"What are we suppose to do?" James asks

"It's a territorial display. Do not run or it will charge" Grace says, "Just stay still"

"I don't think a Hammerhead is going to back off" James says

Unfortunately, James was proven right when the giant beast charged. Jake ran forward and yelled at the beast, making it's head petals fall and the beast to back down.

"Oh, sh*t" Jake says, "Yeah that's right. You get on out of here"

James looked around for something, and found it. While Jake was taunting the Hammerheads, a Thanator came crawling out from behind the tree. Grace noticed it too, making her freeze.

"Guys, I need you to run" James says, "Jake, ready to test those legs?"

"What?" Jake asks, looking around and seeing the large animal, "Oh...crap"

The Thanator jumped over Jake and started towards the Hammerheads.

"Guys, move, now!" James says

"Get over here" Grace says desperately. This was deja vu to a max

The Thanator finally took notice of the two blue people in front of it, and started crawling towards them.

"Run, Jake! RUN!" James says as they both bolted for the forest

The Thanator charged at them as they weaved and dodged through the trees and undergrowth. They quickly dived under some large tree roots, causing the Thanator to bite and claw it's way in. Once they were exposed, Jake let loose with the machine gun, making the beast back off a bit. James thought it would have been better if he had one as well. He was carrying his sniper rifle in it's collapsed form, something he discovered after tinkering with it.

The Thanator grabbed Jake's gun with it's mouth and threw it away. Jake and James quickly slid out of an opening and kept running. The Thanator jumped over a fallen tree trunk and attempted to bite Jake. James helped steady his friend as they nearly got caught. The two quickly ran until they reached a cliff, which they jumped.

The two braced for impact as their bodies hit the water. After a few seconds of struggleing, they managed to grab hold of some roots and pull themselves out. James looked behind himself to see the Thanator screaming at them.

"Damn...I didn't think we'd make it out of that" James says, climbing fully out of the water

"Yeah, we're a crazy bunch, aren't we?"

The two move deeper into the jungle and start to get their bearings. Jake sharperns a long staff to use as a spear, while James keeps his combat knife in hand. While they are moving, they fail to notice a blue colored native, lurking in the trees. She lifted her head up to get a better look, than lifted her whole body up as she raised her bow.

She notched two arrows and waited. As she pulled back, two Woodsprites landed seperately on each arrow, only one of the Woodsprites was red. The Woodsprites floated off the arrows when she relaxed the string. The Native then quickly left the area.

* * *

Grace and the others had been searching for the two ever since their disappearance.

"Guys, we're gonna have to call it a night. Colonel doesn't allow night missions" Trudy says, "They're gonna have to wait 'till morning"

"They won't make it 'till morning" Grace says in a disappointed tone

In the jungle, Jake started to wrap his shirt up on his spear, and proceeded to cover it in some flammable liquid of some kind. James started coating himself in the earth to try and mask his scent.

"James, think we'll make the night?" Jake asks

"I don't know," James says, sharpening his knife on some rocks, "We'll find out soon enough"

They could hear laughing like hyenas, and quickened their efforts to make the torch.

"Sounds like Viperwolves" James says

"You know a lot of things James" Jake says, breaking another match

Finally Jake got the torch burning, and not a moment sooner since a pack of Viperwolves were staring at them from behind. Jae waved the makeshift torch around while James held his sniper like a bludgeon and the knife in a defensive position. The two weaved their way around the trees and vines. Jake pushed through the brambles while James climbed and used the terrain to his advantage.

"Jake, I'll watch our back. Keep moving forward" James says

"Got it"

The two soon find themselves in a small clearing completely surrounded.

"Two on many, good odds, right?" James says

"Oh yeah, just like the old days"

For a few seconds, neither side makes a move. Then, one of the Viperwolves charge. Jake knocked it down with his torch while James stabbed it with his knife. The small skirmish went like that for a bit, until a Viperwolf snuckk up on Jake and pinned him down.

"Jake! Hold on!" James says, trying to move through the line of Viperwolves

Suddenly, the same native charge through the trees, shooting an arrow at the Viperwolf that had pinned Jake down. The two watched at she shot another arrow and jumped into the air. She then swatted one of the Viperwolves away with her bow, twirled around a bit, and hit another one. One of the Viperwolves jumped Her, making them roll down the hill.

She pulled out a knife and stabbed it a few times before grabbing her bow and pushed the remaining Viperwolves away. She hissed at them before focusing on the torch.

"Hey, no-wait!" Jake says, but fails as he watches the female Na'vi throw it into a small pool of water

James noticed one of the Viperwolves whimpering, dieing slowly. He cautiously approached it, and looked at the arrow would. It missed it's heart, but it was a deadly wound. Even though it attacked them, James felt sorry for the creature, like it didn't need to die, and that they were responsable. He then held his knife to the beast's throat, and started to speak.

" _Eywa, know that I am not worthy to sspeak, but brother...I see you, and I am sorry for your death that was our fault,_ " James says, stabbing the knife through the beast's chest, killing it, " _The body will stay here with the earth, while your spirit travels to Eywa_ "

James removes the knife and looks at the other two.

"What was that?" Jake asks

" _How do you know of Eywa Sky Walker?_ "The female Na'vi asks

"I was praying to Eywa. For forgivness, in a sense" James responds, sheathing the pocket knife

" _You will come_ " The female Na'vi says

" _Not without my friend, and who are you?_ " James asks

" _Neytiri, and fine, bring along the baby_ " Neytiri says

"Come on Jake, we've got an adventure on our hands" James says

The two avatars start following Neytiri through the jungle, which started to light up with color. James took in the beauty while keeping up with Neytiri. Neytiri was keeping watch of the two behind her, and had them all stop while on some large twisting branches.

" _We rest, catch breath for few seconds_ " Neytiri says to James

James nods and turns to Jake.

"We're taking a small rest stop, catch your breath" James says

"Alright" Jake responds, kneeling down for a quick second

"Don't tire yourself too much Jake. You're still getting use to your body" James says

"I know, I'm fine" Jake responds

Suddenly, Jake notices a small flying jellyfish.

"Hey, what's that?" Jake asks

"Whoa, Woodsprites"

"What?"

"The Na'vi see these beings as very pure and sacred spirits. They're also seen as the bearers of omens and signs"

"Uh-huh, huh"

A large swarm of Woodsprites gather around Jake and James and land on them. They let out a bright glow before floating away like they were being blown by the wind. James noticed Neytiri watching in fascination before she turned her attention to the two. Before She could say anything, a red Woodsprite floated up to James and landed on his head before floating away to the other Woodsprites.

"Come, now. _We need to get back to Home Tree immediately_ " Neytiri says

She ushers the two up to get them moving.

" _Why such a rush?_ " James asks

" _We need to speak to Tsahik_ " Neytiri responds, " _She will understand this far better than I do_ "

As they continue running, Jake asks the question, "So what's your name?". James forgot to tell Him, but before they could respond, two bolas flew through the air and swung around the two avatar's legs, causing them to topple down into a small clearing. They quickly untie themselves and get up, only to be surrounded by all sides by the natives.

"Well, we have excellent luck, don't we?" James asks

"The best" Jake responds

Neytiri then jumpped down and says, " _Calm people, calm_ "

An angry looking Na'vi rides up on his Direhorse and demounts and approaches Nytiri.

" _Why did you bring these outsiders, they are forbidden_ "

" _I need to see Tsahik. It's a matter of the_ _Eywa_ "

The male Na'vi looks at the two avatars for a moment before signalling some people to bring them along. After a while, they arrived at Home Tree, where James and Jake were brought to the Clan Leader. They were placed in front of Him as Neytiri started talking.

" _Father, I see you_ " Neytiri greets

" _Daughter, why have you brought them here. I do not allow those people in our home. I can smell the stench on one of them_ "

This comment caused most of the Na'vi to laugh.

"What's He saying" Jake asks

"My father is deciding whether or not to kill you both" Neytiri says

"Your father...pleasure to meet you sir" Jake says holding out his hand

The Na'vi spring to action and pull him back, but a feminine voice makes everyone stop.

" _Move away from them, do not touch. I will examine them_ "

"That is mother, she is Tsahik, spiritual leader. She interprets the will of Eywa"

"Alright, who's Eywa?" Jake asks

"Their deity, basically"

"Oh" Jake says, with an understanding look

The elder Na'vi woman starts to examine Jake and James. Starting with the ponytails, then the tails.

"What are you called" She asks

"Jake Sully"

"James Winter"

The woman pulls out a point stick and stabs Jake in the shoulder quickly and runs the stick along her lips. She then looks to James and signals someone for their knife. Once She gets close, James holds up his hand and reveals a Kunai throwing knife. He stabs himself in the arm, but only deep enough to draw some blood, before handing Her the knife.

She does the same thing and then asks, "Why have you come here?"

"We came to learn" James responds

"We have tried to teach many Sky People" She says, giving James back His knife, "It is hard to fill a cup that is already full"

"Well, our cups are empty. Just ask Doctor Augustine" Jake says

"We are a part of the, Jarhead Clan" James adds

" _A Sky Warrior? I could kill him easily_ "

" _No, this is the first Sky Warrior to walk among us. We shall see see if we may be able to teach them our ways, and learn from them as well_ "

" _My daughter_ ," The woman says, " _You shall teach them our ways_ "

" _Ugh, why must it be me, that's not fair_ "

" _You will teach them_ "

Neytiri lets out an exclamation in annoyance.

"It is decided. My daughter will teach you our way. Learn well, Jakesully, and Jameswinter"

Jake and James were given loin cloths, and were stripped of their other clothing in a secluded area. James; however, kept his waist belt, sine it held most of his knives. Neytiri then led them up the spiral to where they would be eating. As soon as they stepped in, everyone went silent.

"Hi, don't stop on our account" Jake says, trying to lighten the mood

As they started walking through, Jake accidentally stepped on someone's tail. James swung His head from side to side and laughed at His friend. Jake just kept walking and ingored His friend's antics. Soon then found a place to sit, and started eating themselves.

Once dinner was over, the three made their way to their beds, which looked like very thin leaves weaved together. Neytiri clibed down into the middle, Jake to the left of Her, and James to the right. Jake leaned on His elbow facing Her, but She just turned to her side and swung the leaf over. Jake then laid down on His back and did the same.

Before James could do the same, He hears Neytiri talk to him.

" _I am curious Sky Warrior. Earlier today, you said to Eywa that you were not worthy to carry out your sentiment. I wonder, why?_ " Neytiri asks

James checked to see if Jake was awake, which was a bit difficult given the leaves, but saw his friends "sleeping" body.

James let out a sigh before saying, " _I am not worthy of anything, honorable or not. Nor will I ever be_ "

James then turns over himself and closes his eyes, and waits for sleep to take him.

* * *

A.N. Hello everyone, it looks like you made it to the end of the chapter. So next chapter will be the return to base, and some teaching moments. Also, I need reviews saying if they want James/Neytiri or not. I'll have to make the decision if I get no answers

Reviews would be appreciated

Anyways stay awesome guys and gals of the world, and I will see you all in the next chapter


	4. Training Recon

A.N. Hello people. Time for next chapter, but first! Stat Chart:

Reviewers:

PrincessAnime8 (Here is more)

moonLight117 (Sylwanin. And there it is)

Chaoseater7074 (Sylwanin...again. Also I'm glad you like the story)

Views:

254+

Two votes for James/Sylwanin (Neytiri's Sister), and nothing else so...I'm going with that pairing. Now onto the chapter.

* * *

James woke up to see Max shining a flashlight in His eyes. James quickly blinks his eyes and pushes the falshlight away from his face.

"Good morning, or should I say good evening" Max says

"Haha, yeah, I guess so"

"The bodies" Grace says, "Are they safe?"

"Phew, you are not gonna believe it?" Jake says

The two go into the tale of what happened, and after a long time of explaining they were allowed to go sleep. The next day, breakfast of an interesting affair. Jake went to sit with Grace, Norm, Max, and a ouple other people, while James went with Lyle and Sean and a couple other soldiers.

"The last thing we see is this marine's ass disappearing into the forest with this angry Thanator on His tail" Grace says

"Not something you can teach" Jake responds

On the other side, the soldiers were having their own conversation.

"So the Shadow survives another night, hey, how'd ya do it man?" Lyle asks

"Just a matter of survival" James responds

"Ah, come on, you gotta have some tricks"

"Well, alright, listen closely" James says, "What you want to do, is make a torch, or any type of fire"

James keeps eating.

"That's it?" Lyle asks

James nods, continuing to eat.

"Wow, fire? That's your master plan?" Sean says

"It's the only thing that all you ar heads could comprehend" James says, breaking down in laughter

The others join in too, with Lyle giving James a friendly punch on the shoulder.

"Look at this guy. He's got the balls and brains to beat all of us down" Lyle says

"Doesn't take much. Just need to know what weapon to use"

"And what weapon are you using right now?" Sean asks

"The only weapon I need to deal with all you, my mouth"

The other soldiers laugh with James and clap him on His shoulders.

"Hey, watch this" Lyle says, standing up, "Hey everybody, we've got a very important guest with us. And he's got some words to share with us"

Lyle lifts up James, who stands up on one of the chairs.

"Well, looks like Lyle made a moron out of himself" James says, getting a couple of laughs, "But hey, if there are any of my fellow Shadows out there, start making some noise!"

A couple people started clanging their in cups on the tables, and more followed. Soon the whole room was filled with the noise before James signalled them to quiet down.

"Well alright...looks like most of us are here, and we are gonna kick some ass like we always do! Hoo-rah!"

They all let out a cheer as James sat back down. He gave Lyle a good natured punch to the shoulder. Soon everyone started to clear out, and Jake and James headed to Quaritch to give Him a report.

"Jarhead Clan? Heh, and it worked?" Quaritch says

"Hey, we're practically family" Jake says

"They're gonna be studying us, and we're suppose to learn their ways" James says

"That's called taking initiative, I wish I had five more like each of you two"

"Look look look, just, find out, what the blue monkeys want" Selfridge says, "I mean we've offered them medicine, uh education, roads, but no no, they like mud. And that wouldn't bother me except. Can someone, just-Sector 12"

Selfridge signals for a technitian to start scrolling across the large holo-map.

"Ok keep going...going...going-stop, stop, Rich, jesus. Their damn village, happens to be sitting on the largest Unobtanium deposite within 200 klicks in any direction. I mean, look at all that cheddar" Selfridge says with a chuckle

"So who gets them to go?" Jake asks

"I think you know the answer to that" Quaritch responds

"Heh, how much time do we have?" James asks

"About 3 months. That's when the dozers get there"

"Alright...then we're wasting time" Jake says

"I like these guys" Selfridge says

The two were then released and sent back to Grace, who was getting the link pods ready for them. The two went into their seperate pods, and Grace gave Jake the advice of, "Don't do anything unusually stupid".

The two woke up to find themselves in the leaves. Neytiri had already left, so the two got out and started wakling and climbing to the bottom on the tree. On the way, they picked up some fruit and ate it on the way.

"Oh sh*t, where's my rifle?" James realizes, "I put it down where we had to change, so I'll go get that and meet you at the base of the tree"

"Alright, see you there"

James started working his way back to where he left the gun. He finally found it leaning against the wall. Attatching it to his belt, James started back down to the base of Home Tree. (A.N. The rifle is attatched horizontally like on Mass Effect)

Once he made it down, a couple warriors eyed the rifle suspiciously, but James just ignored them and walked up to Jake, who was waiting with Neytiri.

"Come" Neytiri says, and starts to lead them away

She led the two into a large open area with a few Direhorses standing around, eating nectar from the flowers. Neytiri brought over two Direhorses and had each of them mount their Direhorses and form the Tsaheylu, while explaining it as they went along.

"For now, say where to go" Neytiri says

"Forward" Jake says, but winds up falling off and landing in the mud

James and Neytiri laugh at Jake's antics as Neytiri runs off the retrieve the animal.

"Forward slowly" James says

The Direhorse started moving slowly.

"Turn towards Jake"

It turned towards Jake.

"Stop"

It stopped.

"Show off" Jake says, wiping some mud off His body

James just laughed, but got serious as Tsu'tey rode in with a few other Na'vi. Tsu'tey rode circled around James with a sneer. One of the Na'vi smacked James' Direhorse on it's rump, causing it to rush forward a bit, knocking James off in the process. Tsu-tey and the others laughed at James embarrassment while He just got up and started wiping some dirt off his back.

"You should go away" Tsu'tey says

"Nah, you'd just miss us" Jake responds, "I knew you spoke english"

Neytiri walked over with an annoyed look on her face. She saw the exchange and was not amused.

" _You can't teach them anything. A rock sees more_ " Tsu'tey says

" _Hm, go_ " Neytiri saw, giving Tsu'tey's Direhorse a smack on it's rump

Tsu'tey and the his followers left on their steeds as Neytiri said, "Again", to Jake. She then walked over to James and noticed a long but not deep cut on his shoulder.

"You are wounded" Neytiri says

"Huh? Oh yeah, must've landed on a rock. I'm fine"

"You should have it cleaned"

"I'm fine, let's just get back to the lessons" James says, walking to his Direhorse

Neytiri hears James whisper, "I'm use to pain anyways", to himself. Neytiri dismisses it and focuses back on the lesson. Once they finished, they want back to the village for a short break. James decited to clean out his gun as best he could.

While he was cleaning, he noticed a few children watching him from afar. One of the smaller walks up to him and looks as James' gun. James held it out so he could get a better look, and soon the other children started surrounding him. He slid the cartdidge into his belt so they wouldn't go for it, and double checked to see if it was in safe mode. While distracted, he didn't noticed the Tsahik watching from afar.

After a while, the kids left to do something else, and James was left to himself. The rest of the day went by, and Jake and James found themselves in the CIC of Hell's Gate giving Quartich his info.

"So there's a center spire, with support ring, around here" James says, motioning inside the holo-tree

"It'll be complicated" Jake adds

Once their de-briefing ended, the two went back to the bio-lab. They saw a few packs and Jake asks, "Where are we headed?"

"Getting out of dodge" Grace responds, "I'm not gonna let Quaritch and Selfridge micro-manage this operation. There's a link up we can use at Site 26, way up in the mountains"

"The Hallelujah Mountains?" Norm asks excitedly

"Yes?"

"Are you serious?"

"Yes"

"Yes!" Norm exclaims

James and Jake give him questioning looks.

"The legendary floating mountains of Pandora? Ever hear of those?"

The group was sent out with Site 26, and flew their way into the Flux Vortex. From there, James, Jake, and Norm were in awe at the sight of the floatinf mountains while Trudy just laughed at them. Soon they landed the site, and they all went inside. They were all given the grand tour, and were waiting for a few minutes in order to get situated. Once that time was done, they went into the link pods and got to work.

Jake and James found themselves in the leaves again. The two of them made their way to the base and saw their teacher talking with another girl. The two walked up to introduce themselves.

"Jake, James, this is my sister, Sylwanin" Neytiri says

"Pleasure to meet you" Jake greets

James responds in a smiliar way.

"It is very nice to meet you as well" Sylwanin says, "I'll be assisting you with your learnings"

"Oh, a second teacher. That might make it easier" Jake says

"One for each of us" James says, "That way the responsability doesn't all fall on Neytiri"

The four made their way to something of an "Archery Range" where James and Jake are given a bow and a few arrows. Neytiri spotted Jake while Sylwanin spotted James. Neytiri had to keep editing Jake, which James laughed at a few times. When James went to shoot, Sylwanin could find only very small things, like aiming a bit higher or pull back the string a bit more. Most of the time he nearly got a bullseye.

"You have very good aim" Sylwanin says

"Thank you" James responds

The four take a small break to rest before going at it again. They discussed improvement and such on how to better themselves as archers. Once they got back, they retrieved their bows and strted shooting again. Only after the first few shots, James' bow started to break. When he was drawing the string back, the middle part of the wood broke, making the upper limp smack James in the face.

"Goddammit!" James says, feeling a small bit of blood run down his face

Sylwanin inspects the bow to see that some of it was cut with a knife. She looks around and sees Tsu'tey laughing at them with his friends. Sylwanin marches up to him and pushes the broken bow into his chest.

" _I would have thought better of you Tsu'tey_ "

" _He's not welcome here, or his friend_ "

" _If you want me to make your life easy when we're mated, then you'll stop being such a nusance_ "

Sylwanin shoved him and then started walking away. He looked over at James and threw the broken bow at him like a spear. Seeing the object, he jumps back, grabs his rifle, un-colapses it, turns off the safe mode, and shoots. Sylwanin sees him grab his gun and is surprised to see him shatter the wood into bits and pieces.

James puts the gun back into safe mode and colapses it before walking over to the remains and picking them up. He then walks up to Tsu'tey and blows the sticks into his face.

" _Don't get in my way. I have met many people like you, and it has always ended bad for them_ " James says

He turns around, but quickly swings the butt of his rifle under Tsu'tey's feet, knocking him to the ground. James placed the gun on his back and walks back to the other three. Jake nods to James with a smirk on his face.

They start up lessons again for a few more shots. James got a new bow to continue with.

" _You're welcome, by the way_ " James says to Sylwanin

" _What do you mean?_ "

" _With the way he threw that bow, it wouldn't have hit me_ " James looked at her, " _It would have veered off course due to it's shape, and hit you_ "

" _Thank you, then_ "

James just nods then focuses back on shooting. After their final shots, they move on to knife work. They didn't actually use knives but they'd spar with each other. Neytiri and Sylwanin would watch them fight each other first to assess their strengths and weaknesses.

Jake had good power and James had good agility and sight, using the environment to his advangage sometimes. They ended that day and seperated. Sylwanin pulled James over to talk since she'd only met a few sky people in her time and was eager to learn more. The two relaxed at the base of Home Tree and started talking to each other.

" _So, what is it like to by a Sky Person_ " Sylwanin asks, " _I've only had the pleasure of meeting a few_ _of your people_ "

" _Well, not much for me. I don't normally_ _socialize with people, but it's interesting to try something new_ "

" _Interesting, Oh,_ _I wanted to ask, where did you get that scar from?_ " Sylwanin says

" _Oh, when your sister was teaching us to ride a Direhorse, I fell off and landed on a jagged rock_ "

" _Really? My sister told me that Tsu'tey caused you to fall_ "

" _Well, yes, that is true_ "

" _While we're on the topic of injuries, how's that cut on your head_ "

Sylwanin looks at James' head and sees it has a small wood piece in it.

" _You're got some wood left in it_ "

James feels around and finds it. He then turns his head as he pulls out his knife. Sylwanin tries to see what he's doing, but understands once she hears the sound of a knife cut. James uses the knife to dig out the wood piece and throws it into the roots of Home Tree. He then wipes the knife on his belt and sheathes it.

Sylwanin looks at the now fresh wound and, without thinking, reaches out and runs her fingers around the edge of the cut. Sylwanin thought that James either didn't feel it or didn't care.

" _It does hurt, only slightly_ " James says

" _You don't show an indication that it does_ "

" _I've learned to mask my feelings. It comes easy when dealing with others_ "

" _Need you mask them with me?_ "

" _I must mask them with everyone, least I let me guard down_ "

James gently removed her hands from his head and got up. Night was falling, and it would be a good time to get a video log in. He crawled back into the leaves. Before he could close his eyes, he saw Sylwanin sitting on the branch above him.

" _My sister told me that you kept to yourself. Now I know she was telling the truth. So, that makes it my job to make friends with you_ "

" _Why would you do that?_ "

" _There is good in all. Even among sky people, there is sometimes good_ "

James closed the leaf covering and closed his eyes. He was then shot back into his real body. The link pod was opened and James sat at the edge and rubbed his eyes. Things were looking to be more complicated, and that was fine with James.

* * *

A.N. Sorry to leave it on a strange note, but...yeah. I keep watching the movie over and over to get in the mood...and it's gone to the point of my mother complaining...lol.

Reviews would be appreciated

Anyways stay awesome guys and gals of the world, and I'll see you next chapter


End file.
